Red Balloon
by Frikay
Summary: Bakura is alone. His parents are gone. His friends have abandoned him. Is he cursed to be alone forever? A short Thiefshipping one-shot.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters.**

**Also, this story is told from Bakura's POV, The italics are his memories from when he was younger, enjoy ^ ^  
**

* * *

Slowly walking out of yet another day of being alone at school, I found my footsteps still following my usual routine. Everyday after school, I always made my way to the park.

I didn't go to the park because I liked the nature. I didn't go to be alone. I went because it held many memories. Memories that, despite still being clear in my head to this day, I was so deeply terrified to forget.

When I was younger it was to get away from the world. It was somewhere to sit in peace. Somewhere I would be left alone. I had even ended up throwing together a cheap swing, and attached it to one of the oldest and biggest tree's in the park. Back then, I thought that was as good as life could get for me. Everything seemed perfect.

The reason I had to get away from the world?

It all started when I was 10. My mother had passed away from a horrible illness that had stalked her for years. The doctors where convinced she would die in the first year, were certain of it, but she held on. She clinged to life for as long as possible, but soon the illness became too much for her frail body.

She passed away peacefully in her sleep.

That was probably one of the worst times in my life. I loved my mother. She was the only person I could go to for help, to talk too.

I ended up being sent to an orphanage after my father left me. He had made it clear even before that moment that he didn't love me.

After that I had made a habit of escaping to the park. Sitting there I was out of everyone's way. No one could see me. Well, that's what I thought.

I sighed to myself as the scene from years ago, when I was still just a kid entered my mind once again. The events from then had never faded. It was still crystal clear in my mind like it had happened yesterday.

* * *

_I sat down in my usual spot on the swing on the giant oak tree. I was proud to be able to say I made this swing myself. It was a simple plank of wood attached to some cheap ropes, but it worked nonetheless._

I didn't sit on this swing to play. I sat here to be alone.

Day in and day out, I was alone. First my mother is taken from me, next my dad abandons me, and now everyone I had ever considered a friend left me too. One by one, they turned, leaving me standing alone, lost in an abyss of my loneliness. Not one person had ever approached me after that. I was cursed to be alone for my entire life.

At first I had tried talking to the other kids, but they blanked me. I was the "freak", the "emo kid", that guy you didn't talk too. No matter what.

I stared upwards, peering through the rich green leaves of the tree into the pale blue summer sky.

I give up. There's no use even trying any more is there?

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't heard someone approach me.

In the corner of my vision I seen a bold red colour, contrasting greatly against the dull pastel colours of the rest of the park. I looked down.

A boy was now standing in front of me, holding in one hand a red balloon.

The boy stared at me, and I stared back, neither of us saying a word.

He was very tan, foreign I guess. He had light blond hair, nearly white like my own. But what stood out the most about him was his eyes. They where a light lilac colour, which I had never seen before.

He stuck out his hand, offering me the red Balloon.

I just stared, confused. Eventually I knew he wanted me to take it, so I slowly took it in my hand. He didn't let go immediately.

We hadn't broken eye contact. I noticed the way he was looking at me. He stared deep into my eyes, it was almost like he understood. Like he felt my pain.

"Marik." he suddenly said, introducing himself. He then let go of the red balloon, and I pulled it towards my side slowly.

"Bakura." I replied. He smiled warmly at me, and I managed a small smile of my own in return.

* * *

We had made friends that say, with such little exchanging of words. It was amazing that such a small gesture had caused such a strong bond between us.

I found myself now smiling fondly at the memory.

After that first meeting, he had returned everyday to the park to talk to me. We quickly became the best of friends, talking and playing around for hours.

Of course, like the way everything else in my life has been, something had to come along suddnly to ruin my newly found happiness.

* * *

_We both laughed uncontrollably at the squirrel that had just fallen out of the tree, holding our stomachs with both our hands. It scampered away behind a bush quickly once recovering from the initial shock of the hard landing. Eventually we got over our laughing fit at the random scene we had just witnessed._

"Wow, that's the first time I've ever seen a squirrel in person!" Marik said in amazement, eyes sparkling.

"Really?" I replied, the disbelief evident in my voice. "But we're always in the park, and they're everywhere."

"I guess I never paid attention." He shrugged, still smiling about the squirrel.

I glanced a dark figure approaching from behind Marik, and stared at it in confusion. Why would someone be coming over to us?

Marik, seeing that something had caught my attention turned his head, and gasped in horror. The man looked down at Marik with a steel cold glare.

"F-f-father?" Marik stammered out, quickly and clumsily standing up to meet him.

The man snarled at him, and roughly grabbed his forearm. "So this is where you've run off too. How many times do I have to tell you! You're not allowed to talk to anyone! You're not allowed to leave the house!I thought I made that clear!"

Marik was whimpering at the tight painful grasp on his arm, and I quickly stood and reached out to try to pull Marik away from his Father.

The man growled at me, then started to walk away pulling Marik roughly behind him. Marik tried to get out of his grip, but he was too weak. The man, Marik's Father, said something down to him and I swear I can see tears welling up in his small frightened eyes.

He turned to me with a look of complete and utter lonliness and pain. The same look that was once plastered on my own face before I had met him. At that moment I knew I would probably never see him again.

**"Bakura!"**

The tone and intensity of his voice sent chills down my spine. I realised I was still standing, an arm extended outwards towards the now distant figure of Marik, as though I was begging for him to come back, trying to stop him leaving.

It was hopeless though. Marik and his Father left my sight. I stood, and found tears creep their way into my own eyes.

I was alone again.

* * *

I stopped walking and looked up at the oak tree I had visited for years. I still came here everyday. It was mostly out of habit, but I knew deep within me, a small part of myself was still wishing, still hoping, to see Marik again.

I pushed myself lightly on the swing, relishing the cool breeze in the air that made the stifling summer heat just about bearable.

Off in the distance I spotted groups of people running around, having fun. Some sat in the shade sharing food, out on a summer picnic. More people were just walking round in pairs, hand in hand, exchanging conversation.

What I would give to have one person to talk too.

For a while I had given into the loneliness, but it eventually gets to you. It eats away at your inner being, It becomes the center of your mind, always in your thoughts, hounding you day after day and keeping you up through the cold chilly nights.

_I'm alone._

You can't live your life happily without talking to anyone.

* * *

_I sat beneath the Oak tree, waiting, hoping for Marik to show up. He would skip up to me, usual smile on his face, and we would talk for hours like we always did._

_Hours passed, and I sat alone._

_Looking around, I noticed everyone leaving. Looking towards the sky I noticed it was beginning to get dark. I didn't move._

_More hours passed, and eventually the cold became unbearable._

_Marik never missed a day of seeing me. Ever. The small suspicion at the back of my head grew and grew, eventually clouding my thoughts completely._

_I'm never going to see Marik again._

* * *

Sighing again, I found myself leaning my head back, looking up into the sky I could just see through the masses of leaves above me. The tree had grown even more since all those years back.

I heard someone approach me quietly, but didn't look down. This had happened a few times before. Someone was coming over to harass me again. To call me names. To torment me.

I didn't look down but silently begged for them to just leave me alone. Loneliness was painful, but I would rather be alone than poked fun at.

And at that moment, time seemed to freeze.

A soft voice floated through the summer breeze, only just managing to reach my ears. The voice was like a whisper.

Not only that, but it was familiar.

I felt my heart go warm as I heard the voice, and allowed my gaze to travel upwards to meet the person standing in front of me. The same person who I had waited years and years to see, hoping that one day, just maybe, we would meet again.

_"Bakura?"_

* * *

**I wrote this because I can't think of what to write for my other fic "New kid at school"  
But I didn't want to just write nothing, so here you go ^ ^**

**Its short, cheesy and emo and whatever else but I wrote it in a hurry**

**I got the idea last night when I was trying to sleep. Well, the idea was more of a picture which I will be drawing to go with this, But I got the story idea from it so yeah ^ ^**


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